WEBVTT STIMULUS IS GONE. IN WASHINGTON, I'M MATT PRICHARD KENNY: BREAKING NEWS, THE D.O.T. IS PUSHING BACK THE BUSINESS 40 CLOSURE IN WINSTON-SALEM BY ALMOST A WEEK BRIANA: THE STRETCH OF BUSINESS 40 THROUGH DOWNTOWN WILL NOW CLOSE SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH. THAT IS NEARLY A WEEK AFTER IT WAS INITIALLY SUPPOSED TO CLOSE. KENNY: KIRSTEN GUTIERREZ IS LIVE IN WINSTON-SALEM. KIRSTEN, WHY IS THE CLOSURE BEING PUSHED BAC KIRSTEN: THE DOT SAYS IT'S BECAUSE OF ALL THE RAIN WE'VE RECEIVED IN OCTOBER. THEY SAY WE GOT MORE THAN TWO INCHES THE OTHER WEEK AND WITH COLD TEMPERATURES THE SOIL ISN'T DRYING AS FAST AS IT COULD BE MAKING IT TOO SATURATED FOR CONTRACTORS TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION. THE PARTIAL CLOSURE OF BUSINESS 40 WAS ORIGINALLY SLATED FOR NOVEMBER 11TH BUT NOW IT'S SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17TH AT 6AM. THE BUSINESS 40 PROJECT IMPACT 1.2 MILES THROUGH DOWNTOWN WINSTON-SALEM. THE CRITICAL PIPELINE FROM PETER'S CREEK PARKWAY TO US 52 ON BUSINESS 40 WILL BE SHUTDOWN FOR MAJOR CONSTRUCTION, BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS, AND OTHER PROJECTS. >> IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THE COMMUNITY TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY, START LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL ROUTES, AND START USING THOSE ROUTES SO WHEN THE CLOSURE DOES OCCUR ON NOVEMBER 17TH, THEY'RE AHEAD OF THE GAME KRISTEN: BARRING ANY MAJOR WEATHER ISSUES, THE NCDOT DOES NOT BELIEVE THE DELAY WILL PUSH BACK THE COMPLETION DATE OF 2020. THEY ARE ON SCHEDULE FOR EVERYTHING SO FAR. LIVE IN WINSTON-SALEM, KIRSTEN

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Earlier this month, NCDOT announced the closure was slated for Nov. 11. The closure is now set for 6 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17.

The following downtown road bridges will close at the same time: Liberty Street, Main Street and Church Street, as well as the Strollway pedestrian bridge. All of them will be replaced with new bridges.

NCDOT Resident Engineer Mezak Tucker said recent rain and the forecast of additional rain, combined with cooler temperatures, means it is taking longer for soil to dry at the site of the Peters Creek Parkway project.

“With that amount of rain over a long period of time, it tends to saturate the subgrade which we pave on, or put curb on, or pour sidewalk on. So when that’s saturated you can’t really do that work until it dries out," Tucker said.

That project had been scheduled to close this weekend to tie in the second phase of the new parkway bridge as part of the overall Business 40 project.

“The Peters Creek Parkway interchange was supposed to be fully functional as we move into the closure. This same rain and impacts affected that work as well, so we needed to push that work back a week as well to be able to tie in the pavement, the curb and sidewalks into the new bridge,” Tucker said.

Because of the soil conditions, however, that closure is also being changed from this Saturday to Saturday, Nov. 10.

“We have said all along that the contractor has given us a very aggressive schedule to reduce the length of the construction time (of Business 40),” Tucker said. “Our goal continues to be an overall reduction in the impact on citizens. But weather is always a factor in meeting those deadlines.”

The Business 40 closure covers a 1.2-mile section between Peters Creek Parkway and U.S. 52. When it closes on Nov. 17, all traffic will be diverted to I-40, Peters Creek Parkway and U.S. 52.

Only the 1.2-mile portion in downtown Winston-Salem will be closed. The sections between downtown Winston-Salem and the I-40 splits, near Clemmons and the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market, will remain open.

Even though the construction of Business 40 and 11 new bridges is slated to last up to two years, efforts are underway to open the road in early 2020.

The $99.2 million project will include:

Replacing the existing roadway pavement

Modernizing entrance and exit ramps

Replacing nine vehicular bridges and two pedestrian bridges

Lengthening the acceleration and deceleration lanes between ramps

Widening existing roadway shoulders and adding new shoulders

Building portions of a multi-use path from Lockland Avenue to Liberty Street